Hi' everyone,I'm writing from Denmark. My best friend she has SM and because we are a little country we don't have many experiences with this desease. So I very much like to have some information or comments about SM and hereditary. We have been told it is not, but as I can read at american pages in some families there are more than one having it. Hope maybe some of you have time to make a comment.

Sorry about your friend. There is actually a link on the main page of ASAP that addresses heredity of chiari. It basically says that yes, there are cases where there are sometimes a few family members with chiari, but there is no conclusive evidence to support a genetic component at this time. They say that only family members who are experiencing symptoms should undergo testing. This is what I have chosen to do on my own.This, however, applies to chiari; I have not seen much on the hereditary nature of SM in the absence of a chiari malformation, probably because SM is often due to some other condition.

Hope that helps. I don't think there is a concrete answer to that question. I would imagine it's on a case-by-case basis.